Germany mourns 80k Covid deaths
Government holds memorial event at Berlin’s Konzerthaus concert hall
BERLIN/JERUSALEM/TORONTO: Germany paid tribute on Sunday to the nearly 80,000 people it has lost to the coronavirus pandemic, even as the country struggles to get a grip on another rise in infections.
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier led a memorial event with other top officials at Berlin’s Konzerthaus concert hall. It was dedicated to the bereaved “who could not accompany their relatives when they died and for whom important and comforting rituals of mourning were not possible”.
Germany’s confirmed death toll from Covid-19 stood at 79,914 on Sunday, an increase of 67 over the previous day. It is the fifth highest total in Europe, after the UK, Italy, Russia and France.
Germany had a comparatively small number of deaths in the pandemic’s first phase, but saw much higher infection levels in the fall and winter. In January, more than 1,000 deaths per day were reported at times in the country of 83 million people.
Fauci expects US decision on J&J vaccine by Friday
A decision on whether to end a US pause in vaccinations with the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 shot is likely by Friday, top US pandemic adviser Anthony Fauci has said.
A government-convened expert panel has been assessing the vaccine’s possible links to a clotting disorder seen in a half-dozen relatively young women.
Fauci told ABC that by Friday “we should have an answer as to where we’re going with it. I would think that we’re not going to go beyond Friday in the extension of this pause”.
The Gaza Strip recorded its highest-ever daily toll from Covid-19, authorities said on Sunday, as the Israeli-blockaded territory struggles with a dearth of vaccines.
On Sunday, the Gaza Strip’s health ministry announced “23 deaths in the past 24 hours”, taking its toll to 761 deaths.
Israel, meanwhile, has lifted a mask mandate and reopened its education system in the latest easing of restrictions following its mass vaccination drive.
Canada reports 2nd case of blood clot from AZ jab
A second case has emerged of a person in Canada suffering from blood clots after taking AstraZeneca’ Covid-19 vaccine.
The case was reported on Saturday in the province of Alberta in an unidentified man in his 60s. He had recently received a dose of the AZ vaccine manufactured by the Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) under the brand Covishield.
The man was “diagnosed, treated promptly and is now recovering”, Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, tweeted. Canadian health authorities continue to urge people to get vaccinated.
During the course of a media interaction following the announcement of the case, Hinshaw said, “I continue to recommend AstraZeneca for anyone who is 55 and older.” She pointed out that it was only the second case in the country after more than 700,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine had been administered.